The Federal Road Safety Corps, FRSC, is to give special protection to members of the National Youth Service Corps, serving across the country.
Ondo State Sector Commander, Rotimi Adeleye, made this known when the NYSC Coordinator, Ondo State, Mrs. Grace Akpabio, paid him a working visit.
According to the Corps Commander, the directive came from the Corps Marshall Boboye Oyeyemi after he met with the Director General of the scheme, Brigadier General Shuaibu Ibrahim, who visited him to solicit for assistance to curb unwarranted journeys embarked upon by corps members.
According to him, the Director General of NYSC visited the headquarters of the FRSC to map out strategies to end recurrent accidents that have been claiming the precious lives of the members of the service corps.
The FRSC boss promised to visit the NYSC camp before the end of the ongoing orientation course to sensitise corps members on the need to relax the urge to embark on unnecessary journeys.
“The NYSC management is worried that some of our children who are serving the nation are losing their precious lives to road traffic accident which could be averted,” he said.
Commander Adeleye said that he had briefed his men to ensure that all corps members in the state were adequately monitored to ensure that no life was lost during the festive season and all year round.
He appealed to the state coordinator to encourage the corps members to join first responders team immediately there is any untoward occurrence that threatens human lives.
“I want to appeal to you to encourage your corps members to act as first responders immediately there is any gridlock or accident. The action here is that they should call the situation room with these numbers: 08077690112 or 08077690570 anywhere within Ondo State, and toll free 122 nationwide.”
Earlier, the NYSC state coordinator, Mrs. Grace Akpabio, said that NYSC management had resolved to make the relationship between the two federal agencies more robust with the aim of achieving no loss of corps members.
Akpabio thanked the command for the roles it had been playing at ensuring that corps members serving in the state received priority attention always.
She promised to mobilise her field officers to address corps members not to travel late in the evening or overnight during their weekly community development meetings.
She wanted the FRSC to liaise with transport unions such as National Union of Road Transport Workers, NURTW, the Road Transport Employees Association of Nigeria, RTEAN, and Amalgamated Commercial Tricycle and Motorcycle Owners, Repairs and Riders Association of Nigeria, ACCOMORAN, to assist corps members navigate the state rather than extort them.
“I want to enjoin you to encourage the transport unions not to take advantage of the corps members serving in the state by extorting them as majority of them are visiting this part of the country for the first time.”
The NYSC boss reiterated that the scheme would be grateful to the FRSC if it could enforce night travel ban on corps members and apprehend the recalcitrant ones.
It would be recalled that the Director General of the NYSC, Brigadier General Shuaibu Ibrahim had expressed concern over the rate at which corps members lose their lives under questionable circumstances.
General Ibrahim decried the attitude of some individuals who turned the other eye to reckless habit of some corps members who are fond of travelling very late in the night instead of discouraging them from embarking on such frivolous journeys.
